Investigation on steady and unsteady performance of a Sco2 centrifugal compressor with splitters

Abstract

Supercritical carbon dioxide (Sco2) is widely concerned with its excellent physical properties. Its high density helps to achieve a compact mechanical structure, especially in all kinds of turbomachinery. In this paper, a Sco2 centrifugal compressor with splitter blades is displayed and numerically investigated. A thorough numerical analysis of the steady and unsteady performance of this Sco2 centrifugal compressor is performed in ANSYS-CFX with SST turbulence model. Streamlines, pressure and temperature under steady- and unsteady-state are compared and analyzed. Moreover, the trans-critical phenomenon at the leading edge of the rotor blade and the aerodynamic performance are covered. The results in this paper provide the foundation for the design and numerical investigation of Sco2 centrifugal compressors.